Scotland (archive)
- ±«Óătv Sport Rugby
- 23 Oct 07, 09:01 AM
Hang out the bunting, strike up the band, Tom and Ben are home.
Not quite in a jet draped with flags, awaiting a press corps and tumult of fans, more in a campervan, on a ferry, still wearing those flip-flops. And that vest. Probably.
So here's a best of Fordyce & Dirs, in photos and links to remind you of the past seven weeks' adventure.
You can check out all of .
Continue reading "Now That's What I Call Tom and Ben (in photos)"
- Mark Orlovac
- 22 Oct 07, 07:23 AM
Waterloo station/ a cross channel ferry, Monday - As a final parting World Cup gift, myself, Tom and Ben (remember them?) thought we'd dish out a few prizes from the last seven weeks. First prize goes to all of you, obviously, for reading and joining in and making the blog what it is.
But after you lot, there have been some outstanding, and not so clever, achievements. Here's just a few. Let's call them "The Bloggys". (See if you can spot who wrote which ones!)
Continue reading "The Bloggys"
- John Beattie
- 16 Oct 07, 03:29 PM
I know, I know, it might seem a crazy idea, but I’d like all Scots, Welsh, Irish, French and Italians to support England in the rugby World Cup final. What do you think?
Aaargh, stop throwing bricks at me and let me put forward my logic.
You see, when I was a wee boy growing up in , the UK seemed a long way away. But it also struck me that all of us in the Northern Hemisphere are quite like each other. For instance, you can’t say that someone a mile north of the is markedly different from someone a mile south of it.
Continue reading "Why all six nations should back England"
- Tom Fordyce
- 8 Oct 07, 12:00 PM
Marseille, Monday morning - There’s no two ways about it – that was without doubt the greatest sporting weekend I’ve ever been involved in.
Marseille this weekend has been a city drenched in beer, tension, disbelief, sorrow, happiness and wild, wide-eyed celebration.
Even now, with the streets finally emptying of campervans, sleeping fans and plastic pint pots, you can still almost feel the excitement bouncing off the sticky pavements.
Continue reading "Sweet and sour memories of Marseille"
- Mark Orlovac
- 8 Oct 07, 11:56 AM
Paris – The reaction of the players as the final whistle went at the Stade de France on Sunday night said it all.
Some sank to their knees, others looked blankly into space, Sean Lamont angrily threw his gumshield to the ground.
As the Argentina players and fans started their delirious celebrations, Scotland were left with the feeling that they had just blown their best of chance of reaching the last four of a World Cup since 1991.
Continue reading "Scotland ponder what might have been"
- Mark Orlovac
- 8 Oct 07, 03:42 AM
Paris - I was at the Stade de France on Sunday night for the quarter-final between Scotland and Argentina as the Pumas reached the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time.
Here's my player ratings for the game, let me know what you think.
Continue reading "Argentina v Scotland ratings"
- Mark Orlovac
- 6 Oct 07, 11:28 AM
Paris - “Every team needs a Chris Paterson”, said a television commentator as the pinpoint Scottish kicker landed another penalty in the last weekend.
And how right he is.
For the 30-year-old is one of the prime reasons Scotland are facing a quarter-final clash with Argentina on Sunday rather than joining Wales and Ireland on the plane home.
Continue reading "Hail the kicking king"
- Ryan Jones
- 6 Oct 07, 10:58 AM
Swansea - Eight left and by the end of the weekend there will be four.
Which four that will be has yet to be determined, but what is for sure is that the make-up of the semis will be heavily influenced by the performances of each of the team’s key players.
Here’s my rundown on this weekend’s central figures and who will end up winners and losers.
Continue reading "Barnes will inspire Australia to victory"
- Tom Fordyce
- 2 Oct 07, 11:55 AM
Marseille, Tuesday morning - “Oh, what an atmosphere!” Ben chirped this morning. “I love a party with a happy atmosphere!”
I sighed. No man likes to be woken up by a semi-naked rugby fan from , particularly when he’s dancing around singing lines from his favourite songs - but for once Dirsy had a point.
After four weeks of phoney wars and soggy squibs, the party feels like it’s truly about to start.
Continue reading "For those about to rock, we salute you"
- Ben Dirs
- 1 Oct 07, 10:43 AM
To lose one Six Nations side before the quarter-finals of a World Cup is unfortunate. To lose three just goes to show how stagnant and outmoded northern hemisphere rugby has become.
Some claim this tournament has proved that rugby runs stronger and deeper than ever before, with and cited as prime examples.
I don’t go for that. After all, the All Blacks and Australia have been gubbing the minnows at this World Cup just as they always have done.
I hesitate to pick on the Scots – at least they managed to scrape through their group - but it was our misfortune to witness which was the rugby equivalent of a wet weekend in Prestatyn with only a stack of LPs for company.
Continue reading "Northern exposure leaves Dirsy depressed"
- ±«Óătv Sport Rugby
- 29 Sep 07, 09:56 PM
Scotland squeezed into the World Cup quarter-finals with a narrow victory over Italy in heavy rain in St Etienne.
It was a tight game with plenty of kicking from both sides but in the end Scotland just had the edge.
What was your view of the game?
Continue reading "Scotland ratings v Italy"
- Andrew Cotter
- 24 Sep 07, 05:15 PM
This may be the quickest and perhaps least professional blog ever to hit the web but there are valid reasons.
Since I had to check my lap-top in with the rest of my luggage, I am left tapping away at one of those internet kiosks where you pile in coins (which are short).
You have to work as furiously as you can, while your time left, your money and possibly your life quietly slip away in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.
I am also encircled by one of the longest check-in queues I have ever seen, consisting almost entirely of All Black supporters - the army of is on the march again.
Continue reading "Hacked off with the Haka"
- Phil Harlow
- 24 Sep 07, 09:42 AM
Murrayfield, Sunday - Don’t you just love the ? The best teams in the world, going hell for leather for victory, the underdog taking it to the favourites and all in front of a backdrop of fervent fans going blinking bananas.
That’s the theory at any rate. certainly didn’t live up to that ideal, or even come close to it.
Continue reading "Murrayfield mis-match is grey occasion"
- Phil Harlow
- 23 Sep 07, 06:26 PM
Edinburgh - I was at Murrayfield on Sunday as Scotland went down to the mighty but misfiring All Blacks.
Here’s how I rated each individual Scotland player’s performance. See whether you agree and give us your own thoughts.
Continue reading "Scotland ratings v New Zealand"
- Andrew Cotter
- 21 Sep 07, 06:07 PM
Edinburgh - Murrayfield will be close to capacity, The Haka will will be performed by the (in a nice light grey) and the Scotland team which lines up to face it will be far from full-strength.
is certainly not a surprise but it does offer plenty of talking-points.
Continue reading "Scottish lambs set for slaughter?"
- Bryn Palmer
- 20 Sep 07, 12:16 PM
Paris - It is not only England it seems who are struggling to translate training-ground effort into match-day mettle.
The good news for Scotland supporters is that Italy are proving equally inept.
Continue reading "Succour for Scots in Italy mind games"
- Andrew Cotter
- 19 Sep 07, 04:25 PM
Murrayfield - Scotland's rugby team has certainly earned pass marks so far in this World Cup, but what about Scotland's national rugby stadium as one of the venues?
I don't think anybody would really disagree that in an ideal world (cup) this whole tournament would be taking place in France. But deals were done and backs were scratched, so how was the Parc de Murray experience for you?
There is a suggestion that Scotland might be considering a bid to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup, so you can imagine that there were concerns over the attendance and atmosphere in the Scottish capital. Everyone remembers with some shame the dreadful Scottish attendances during the 1999 World Cup.
Continue reading "Did Murrayfield get away with it?"
- Mark Orlovac
- 18 Sep 07, 11:13 PM
London - Scotland made it two wins out of two with a comfortable enough over Romania at Murrayfield.
Frank Hadden's men rarely looked troubled but were a little scrappy and will need to improve their execution, especially at the breakdown, for the tougher tests that lie ahead.
See what you think of my player ratings and let us know what you thought of the Scotland display.
Continue reading "Scotland ratings v Romania"
- John Beattie
- 18 Sep 07, 08:05 AM
Do you know, I think that this World Cup is hastening the end of the .
The premier northern hemisphere competition is being exposed for what many have suspected it to be for a while – protectionist.
The sooner we let , , and into regular elite competition on an annual basis, the better.
Continue reading "Beginning of the end for Six Nations?"
- Andrew Cotter
- 14 Sep 07, 03:44 PM
St Etienne - continue to draw sizeable crowds of locals to their open training sessions at the St Etienne Football Academy.
Most are there purely to collect autographs and have their photos taken with the lads and they generally give the impression that nobody in this little corner of France has any work to go to.
Continue reading "Scotland reveal their hand?"
- Sean Davies
- 13 Sep 07, 07:53 AM
It’s been a frustrating for the armchair supporter of the home nations.
I’m not talking about the less than inspiring wins over the , , and .
It’s those damn with the imbecile supporters from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Continue reading "Driven crazy by the opening exchanges"
- Andrew Cotter
- 11 Sep 07, 11:18 AM
St Etienne is a strange place to be at the moment.
The excitement of the first glimpse of the Rugby World Cup at the Stade Geoffroy Guichard (he founded a supermarket chain if you were wondering) has now given way to a general torpor, a hibernation until the next game is staged here and Samoa take on the United States - in just over two weeks' time.
Continue reading "Scotland play waiting game"
- Nick Mullins
- 10 Sep 07, 10:31 AM
In the bright light of a Monday morning, you have to think that in the end Wales produced the most impressive performance of the .
England were horrendous (it’s a long time since I’ve been patronised by an American over Sunday breakfast), Scotland were OK but nothing more and I still have a rumbling feeling that Ireland are hurtling down the other side of the hill. Their final pool match with Argentina is beginning to look like a career-definer for so many of their players and coaches.
And while the headline writers were sharpening their pencils five minutes into the second half against , Wales eventually rediscovered some composure and towards the end there were even echoes of those mesmerising passages of play against New Zealand and England in 2003.
Continue reading "Weekend to forget for ±«Óătv Nations"
- James Standley
- 9 Sep 07, 06:52 PM
Scotland won their opening match of the 2007 World Cup by defeating tournament debutants Portugal 56-10.
The Iberian minnows, only two of whom are professionals, will claim a moral victory after making the Scots work for every score.
Let us know what you make of the ratings, and your views in general of the Scottish performance.
Continue reading "Scotland player ratings"
- Andrew Cotter
- 6 Sep 07, 05:02 PM
St Etienne - It's official. St Etienne loves Scotland! And the ladies love the Lamont brothers!
Today was Scotland's first full day in this little corner of the Rhones-Alpes region and the dignitaries of St Etienne appeared with their best smiles and hand-shakes at the first press conference which was held in the rather grand Hotel de Ville (Town Hall, according to O-Grade French).
Continue reading "Loving the Lamonts"
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